With Lindsay Lohan keeping out of the headlines for the past few weeks, leave it to her pops to pick up the slack.
Michael Lohan has pleaded not guilty in a Long Island court to threatening to kill fiancée Erin Muller. Lohan, 49, is facing a misdemeanor charge of aggravated harassment for a March 18 altercation.
"He allegedly called Erin Muller on the telephone and stated in sum and substance that he would kill her and himself if Erin Muller left him," says a spokesman for the Suffolk County D.A.
But Lohan exclusively tells E! News that "by no means did I threaten to cause harm to Erin or myself...As a matter of fact, Erin even told the court that she didn't want to pursue anything. It's all going to be dropped."
As for that telephone call...
"A person she thought was her friend violated her in a way that I don't want to describe," he says, explaining that a distressed Mueller phoned him from Long Island while he was in Las Vegas. "When I found out the truth it didn't sit well with me."
He claims the New York Post, which first reported the charges, blew the whole thing out of proportion.
"It's all going to be dropped. It's an example of how people twist things," says Lohan, who has become a religious counselor (and charity boxer) since serving a two-year prison sentence for assault, cocaine and DUI charges.
Lohan surrendered for arrest on April 6 and was arraigned in district court. He remains free on his own recognizance pending a June 10 court date.
As for his famous daughter, Lohan says he is happy Lindsay "has another chance now" with a new movie role. And he also couldn't resist a parting shot at his longtime nemesis and former Lindsay love Samantha Ronson.
"If Sam does come back in her life," he says, "it is all going to go downhill."